Russian shelling has destroyed all essential infrastructure in Sievierodonetsk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, adding that Moscow’s main objective now was to take the city.
“About 90% of the buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city’s building stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunications. There is constant shelling,” Zelenskiy said in a televised speech.
“The capture of Sievierodonetsk is a fundamental task for the occupiers […]. We’re doing everything we can to hold that lead,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has urged the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons in order to turn the tide of the war, which is in its fourth month.
The battle for Sievierodonetsk, which sits on the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, is in the spotlight as Russia makes slow but solid gains in the part of the country known as Donbas, comprising the regions from Luhansk and Donetsk near the Russian border.
Having failed to take the capital kyiv in the first phase of the war, Russia is seeking to consolidate its grip on the Donbas, large parts of which are already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
It concentrated enormous firepower in a small area – in contrast to earlier phases of the conflict when its forces were often scattered – and pounded towns and villages with artillery and airstrikes.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington said the Russians had still failed to encircle Sievierodonetsk and that the Ukrainian defenders had inflicted “frightening casualties” on them.
The Ukrainians are themselves suffering serious casualties, both civilians and combatants, they said in a briefing document.
Russia’s focus on Sievierodonetsk has drained resources from other battlefronts and as a result has made little progress elsewhere, analysts said.
A Reuters reporter in the area said a ceramics factory was almost completely destroyed on the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk, which straddles the last main road leading to Sievierodonetsk and is only 10 km from the frontline. .
The reporter heard what sounded like outgoing artillery fire and a Russian plane dropping a bomb near the town. Several transporters with Ukrainian soldiers could be seen in the area.
RUSSIAN OIL EMBARGO
Russia says its “special military operation” aims to rid Ukraine of nationalists who threaten Russian speakers. Ukraine and Western countries say Russia’s claims are a false pretext for a war of aggression and the West has imposed a barrage of sanctions targeting Moscow while delivering arms shipments to help the Ukrainian government defend.
However, after nearly half a dozen rounds of punitive measures, some against oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the banks, the unity within the European Union is put to the test again, the bloc failed to agree on a Russian oil embargo on Sunday. Talks will continue on Monday.
German Economics Minister Robert Habeck has expressed concern that EU unity is “starting to crumble”. The bloc’s leaders are due to meet Monday and Tuesday at a summit to discuss a new set of sanctions against Russia, including the oil embargo.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy – who has won widespread admiration in the West for his leadership in the conflict – visited Ukrainian troops on the front lines in the northeastern Kharkiv region on Sunday.
Several explosions were heard in the city of Kharkiv hours after the visit, a Reuters reporter said, in what was Zelenskiy’s first trip outside the kyiv region since the start of the invasion.
A large plume of smoke could be seen rising northeast of the center of the city, which has been the target of Russian bombardment in recent days after several weeks of relative calm.
“You are risking your lives for all of us and for our country,” the president’s office told the soldiers during the distribution of congratulations and gifts.
Earlier, Zelenskiy had expressed hope that Ukraine’s allies would provide much-needed weapons and said he expected “good news” in the coming days.
Ukraine has begun receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States, its defense ministry said on Saturday.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak reiterated his call for long-range American-made multiple rocket launchers. US officials said such systems are being actively considered, with a decision expected to be made in the coming days.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian military command said its forces were counterattacking in the southern Kherson region, most of which is occupied by Russia.
The Mykolaiv regional administration said residential areas of Mykolaiv town were shelled on Sunday morning, killing one civilian and injuring at least six.
Reuters has not been able to verify this information.